Spirit
by Miss Uncreative
Summary: The return from a normal mission goes awry for Po and Tigress, with an arrow, a bridge, a spirit, a sword, and a bed. *I don't want to give too much away! You're safe just reading it, instead. ;)
1. The Arrow

**A/N:** Hey, everyone! Look, I'm not dead! :)  
For those of you who read _Here in Our Moments_, just know that I'm still working on it. Because it's oneshot number 25, I want it to be _awesome_.  
I'm unsure about this story. I like it - but I don't know if anyone else will. It seems a little random, but hopefully you will enjoy this! It will be **multi-chaptered**, but it won't be too many, I figure.  
So, why don't we get started! Enjoy please! :)

**Disclaimer:** Sadly, I do not own KFP. Well, darn.

* * *

**Spirit**

_**"The Arrow"**_

* * *

Po's eyes looked up. He scanned and scanned for some type of cover, but the pouring rain clouded his vision. Po could barely hear himself think among the thunder, rain, and Tigress' deep breathing.

He looked at her. She leaned deep into his side, her arm slung around his back as his arm was around her shoulders. She walked at his pace, but her pained grimace was obvious to Po even with the rain in his eyes.

"We need to find shelter!" Tigress yelled in his ear, hoping to be heard.

Po barely did hear her, and he couldn't help but think a sarcastically annoyed _don't you think I'm looking?!_ but kept his mouth shut. He stopped walking for a moment, thusly Tigress did, too, and he paused and searched with his eyes.

There! Was that an entrance to a cave? Po shrugged: only one way to find out.

He took himself and Tigress to the spot, where he discovered he was right. The moment he stepped inside, Tigress pushed him away a little and said, "Search the back. We need to know this cave is unoccupied."

All Po had to do was look up, and he saw the back of the cave only a few feet ahead. "Don't worry," was all he said.

He was surprised Tigress was standing by herself, what with an arrow protruding from her side. The whole arrow, too. Po grimaced at the flashback running through his head. But she then found a rock – one that came to her midline when she sat beside it and pointed up for her to wrap her arms around.

"Po, I need you to listen to me." She hissed with pain. She was sitting away from him; her back facing him and her front facing the cave's wall. She continued, "Pull out the binding and a water holder from your backpack."

Within no time at all, Po was behind her, throwing his backpack off and searching for the items. He found them and, placing them beside him, said, "Alright."

"Now," Tigress went on. "Remove my vest."

Po gaped. It also took some time for his mouth to work, and when it finally did, out came, "H-huh?"

"Po!" She hollered strictly. "This is no time to be shy!"

_No time to be shy –_ He thought, but she was already continuing on, "We need to fix me up, so slap the blush off your face and help me!"

_She can't even see my blush,_ Po thought stubbornly. But then he crawled over to face in front of her. He slowly unbuttoned her vest, as to not hurt her, as she clutched on the rock with a pained scowl.

When the buttons were cleared, he said softly, "I'm going to remove the vest now."

She hissed a breath and then released her grasp on the rock. He slowly and gently removed the vest through her left arm, her healthy side. He then took a deep breath and removed it from her right arm, trying his best not to hurt her more than he had to (or touch the arrow). She hissed in a breath, but she otherwise stayed quiet.

Tigress chest was bound beneath her vest, and Po felt stupid for acting so embarrassed. But before Po could think of this anymore, she was already commanding him of the next step: "Come to my front and break the front of the arrow."

Po did so, crawling on his knees over to her front. His hand shook as it hovered over the arrow, praying to every god he knew that he would do it write and not hurt her, before he grasped the front of the arrow. The arrowhead seemed to be mocking him, reminding him that this was all _his_ fault. But he then snapped the arrow, making it mostly disappear from this end.

"Good," Tigress commended. "Now go to the back and pull the arrow out."

Again, Po gaped. And once again, when his voice finally worked, he let out a, "Huh-what?"

She didn't repeat herself. He realized she was dead serious, and he once again crawled behind her.

"The second it's out," Tigress added. "Wash it out with water. It's not much at all, but it's something. Then bind the wound as quickly and _tightly_ as you again – even if it hurts me. Do you hear me, Po?"

He nodded but then realized she could not see his nod, for he was behind her. "Yes."

Po double-checked the water was close to him and Tigress, and then he took hold of the end of the arrow and pulled slowly. It seemed to take forever, but finally, the arrow was out. He quickly then threw a few splashes of water on the puncture, and then he wrapped the binding tightly around her waist several times and tried his best to ignore her murmurs of pain.

Po took a deep breath, he even let himself begin to relax, when it was finished. He sat there with a relieved smile on his face, daring himself to hope again, when Tigress spoke up, "Po. My vest."

He began to blush as he exclaimed, "Of course!" And quickly helped her put her vest back on. She was still in pain, but she seemed more comfortable with an arrow no longer in her side.

After a few moment of silence, Po dared to ask, "So what now?"

"We rest," Tigress answered, "and we wait for the rain to stop. When it does, we'll head back to the Palace."

Po gave a nod, muttering, "Right."

Tigress smiled softly at him. "Get some rest. I'll keep first watch."

"No," Po protested. "You need rest more than me. I'll take first watch."

She wanted him to rest, but at the same time, she realized she was too tired to argue, and thusly, realized he was right. She gave a small nod, another soft smile, and then made herself comfortable by leaning against the wall and began to sleep.

Po's eyes scanned from the entrance of the cave and then back at Tigress every few minutes. And with a shake of his head, he ridiculed himself.

He should have listened! She said _quiet!_ and he kept on talking! It was because of him that she couldn't hear the two archers, nor the arrow in time to dodge. At the sight of her down, Po went at her side. She had screamed, "The archers, Po!"

And he had turned to the tree the arrow had come from, kicked it as hard as he could, and down came an archer. Po fought him into unconsciousness, and when Po turned back, Tigress had already taken down the second. But by then, she was drained of energy, and she needed to get the arrow out of her side _now_.

Po prayed Tigress' simple plan would work. Once the rain stopped, they would back home: with no other detours or problems.


	2. The Bridge

**A/N:** Wow, am I updating at a decent time? What am I doing?! :P  
Anyway, so, here's part 2! Nothing much to say - except that I hope you enjoy it!

**Disclaimer:** If I owned KFP, do you reall think the 3rd movie would be coming out in _2016?_ Really?

* * *

**Spirit**

_**"The Bridge"**_

* * *

Po looked up at the blue sky above him and smiled. Well, at least the weather was in their favor! He then proceeded to stumble over a tree root. He shook his head, trying to wake himself up. He didn't get enough sleep; but it was his fault, and it was for good cause. Hearing Tigress' painful breathing as she slept made Po give her a little extra time, and he only woke her when he felt like he was about to collapse from exhaustion.

Speaking of Tigress, she was in step closely beside him. However, when they had first left the cave, Tigress had found a large, sturdy stick to lean against instead of Po. He still help her by holding her arm when the terrain got rough, but, otherwise, the two only stepped in time together.

Po shook his head at the thought that it had been just a normal mission before the arrow incident. In fact, it was barely a mission at all. There had been rumors that the south farmers* wanted to rebel. Shifu had sent Po and Tigress on the mission, figuring they would be the perfect team for the objective. Po could enthuse anyone with the positives, especially if the topic was kung fu, and Tigress was the silent enforcer.

They had cut through the Artisan Village**. Po was a little unsure why Tigress had chosen that way instead of the Thread of Hope. It would have been quicker, and it had been rebuilt after Tai Lung had it destroyed. But Po had shrugged it off; after all, he loved seeing his "fans," for lack of a better term.

When they arrived at their destination, the farmers had met them, assuring them that there was no rebellion planned against the Jade Palace and their masters. The farmers reported a band of archers; they had not shot anyone yet, but they liked to scare the farmers, by shooting arrows near them and through their possessions. Po and Tigress assured the farmers they would inform Grandmaster Shifu and would come whenever called.

Po had thought it was over after that. But of course, he was wrong, as he sang and babbled and droned on, even when Tigress' ear twitched, and she demanded silence, he prodded her with unstopping questions – well, the questions did stop when she fell to the ground.

Po shook his head to rid the thoughts. He couldn't change the past – yesterday was history, after all! All he could do was focus on the present, the now: and that was he and Tigress were walking as quickly as they could.

Po glanced around with furrowed eyebrows. He was never really good at focusing, but he was aware that this was not the path he and Tigress had taken before.

"Tigress?" Po spoke up as he stepped a little closer to her. "Are we on the right trail?"

Tigress nodded. "We're going a faster way."

"Yeah?"

"We'll be crossing the Thread of Hope this time, instead of the Artisan Village." She stated.

Po's eyebrows bunched tighter together. "How come we didn't take the Thread of Hope before – if it's faster?"

Tigress' mouth stayed shut for a moment, as if considering how to word whatever she needed to say. Finally, she responded. "The Thread of Hope is not necessarily my – or anyone else's, for that matter – first choice. The only reason we're taking it now is we need to get back to the Jade Palace as quickly as possible."

Po glanced at her right side then looked away quickly. He stayed silent the rest of the journey.

Soon enough, Tigress and Po reached the Thread of Hope. Suddenly, she stopped, standing a little straighter, darting her eyes, and perking her ears.

"Do you feel that?" She asked with her voice low.

Po stayed quiet for what felt like forever, standing still and trying to feel something. He felt nothing, perhaps save for tired and confused, answering, "No? – should I feel something?"

"No," Tigress said quickly, continuing on her pace to the rope bridge. "There is nothing, I must be tired, that's all." She sounded to him as if she was trying to convince herself, but he stayed quiet.

Tigress threw her walking stick aside, seeing as she couldn't really use it on the bridge.

They moved slowly, of course. Tigress walked alone, gripping the rope tightly with each step. Po tried to keep his distance, but was finding it difficult between wanting to move quicker and be close to her incase she needed help.

Around halfway across the first bridge, Po heard thunder roll above. He looked up and moaned. He noticed the dark clouds and flashes of lightning as he exclaimed, "Not another storm!"

"We must hurry," Tigress said as she quickened her pace. Well, she quickened it as best as she could; but their speed was still rather slow.

They continued on, nearly finishing their journey on the first bridge, when suddenly Po thought he heard laughter. It was not a joyous kind, but one of seemingly evil.

"Did you hear that?" Po asked.

He had barely finished as Tigress was answering, " – It's just the thunder; it must be."

He would have believed her if she hadn't answered so quickly. She sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than him. But he decided to keep quiet and just walk quicker.

Po was practically at her heel then. There was nearly no space between the two as Tigress walked as quickly as she could across the rope bridge, and Po followed.

They soon finished their journey across the first rope bridge. Tigress paused a minute, holding her side and breathing heavily. Po was quickly beside her, already putting his paw on her arm gently, as if to give her some energy of his own.

"We must hurry on." Tigress said between pants. But even Po knew she was saying this to herself more than to him.

He wanted to tell her to rest a little longer, for she looked absolutely exhausted, but before he could, a loud roll of thunder bellowed above, and Po was reminded of both the coming storm and the heinous laugh he had heard earlier.

Tigress must have thought the same as he, for she was making her way to the second rope bridge as quickly as she could manage.

Things played out the same way they had on the first bridge: Po was still following at Tigress' heel as she led in front as quickly as she could. They were nearly halfway across when Po heard the same evil laugh as before. There was no questioning it this time. He locked eyes with Tigress as she turned her head to face him: she had heard it, too, and she could no longer deny it.

"Run!" Tigress yelled, grabbing her side and sprinting.

Po followed behind her, not really thinking. If he had, he would have wondered why they were running for their lives because of an echo that sounded like a laugh; but he trusted her, and she always knew of things he didn't, and so off they ran across the rope bridge.

Without warning, a wooden plank seemed to have been pulled out from below underneath Tigress. Her leg fell through, and she yelped with pain, as Po tripped over her and fell on his stomach, with his legs kicking her face.

"Po!" She yelled, and he jumped up quickly, stumbling a few times and kicking her with his legs. He was finally able to turn around, and he grabbed her arms and pulled. But she didn't budge.

She said urgently, "Something's got me – something's got my leg!"

"How?" Po asked as he continued pulling at her arms as she thrashed around her fallen leg wildly. His question went unheard, or simply unanswered, as the struggle continued on.

It finally ended, after what felt like an eternity of struggling and fighting, whatever had kept Tigress' leg down had released it, and Po pulled her out with all his strength; she flew into him, and they collapsed on the bridge, with she on top of him.

Po took her shoulders, bringing her face a little closer, and he asked her, "What is going _on?_"

Tigress answered by shaking her head and pushing herself up. "We just need to get out of here!" She pulled him up and pushed him to get him to start running again.

They sprinted, this time with Po leading and Tigress at his heels, ignoring the swaying of the bridge. But soon the wind picked up, and the Thread of Hope began to sway wildly, causing the pair to slow down and eventually stand still for fear of falling over.

And then Po couldn't move. He was literally paralyzed with no reason behind it. Tigress ran into him, but he didn't budge.

"Move, Po!" She shouted at him, giving him a push. But still he remained, unable to even open his mouth to tell her that he had no control of his body anymore and that he had no idea why.

He heard the evil laugh again, this time from behind him. He still couldn't move, but he felt Tigress turn around and step into him, her back now touching his.

Po heard her breathe out: "You."

He heard a sinister chuckle, and then a familiar voice sneered, "I've missed you, too."

Po knew that voice! But it couldn't be? The voice sounded a lot, too much, in fact, like that of Tai Lung.

* * *

*So I was going over it in my mind, and I rewatched Kung Fu Panda, and it looks like the Thread of Hope is actually in the east, not the south. But can we over look this...please?

**There is a very strong possibility that I am wrong about the location of the Artisan Village and the Thread of Hope. I actually think the Artisan Village is more behind the Jade Palace, while the Thread of the Hope is at the entrance to the Valley of Peace in the other direction. But because I can't prove this, can we just overlook this, please? Pretty please? :)

Sorry about my fails. Forgive me?


End file.
